The number of rural Missouri residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 ranks near the bottom in the US, according to the Daily Yonder, an online publication focused on covering rural America. According to the latest data from September 9th, Missouri ranks 43rd out of 50 states and the District of Columbia, with only 32.7% of residents who reside in rural areas being vaccinated against COVID.

Dr. Robert Stauffer of Freeman Health System in Joplin spoke Wednesday about working with COVID long hauler patients. “The question a lot of patients ask me is what I can do about it? Well, I think it comes down to, unfortunately, there’s no pill that I can give them that’s going to make those symptoms go away. And it comes down to basically you have to recondition yourself. You have to get good sleep. You have to get plenty of rest. You have to slowly go back into an exercise program, eating right”. Freeman Joplin continues to operate three levels of COVID-19 care for patients in different stages of recovery. Massachusetts has the highest number of rural residents vaccinated at over 70%.